I know how exhausting it is to carry around useless, pointless and harmful thought forms. All it does is occupy my mind and bring stress and grief along the way. So I was quite thrilled to learn I am not alone, thanks some amazing friends, realizing we are all guilty, participating in this self-induced torture at some point in our lives.

Looking back at your past, there may be guilt, shame or regret which feed these negative thought forms. Feelings around things that you should have done but you didn’t do. The people you should have valued more, the words you should have never said. It is what it is ... so now “how do you start making peace with your past?”

I am making a conscious effort to eliminate the thoughts of negativity that I harbour. Yes, it is work in progress. Fortunately, a great healing source asked me some profound questions:

how can someone’s image of you affect you negatively without your permission?

what is it that is causing your pain?

what did you lose/gain?

did you grieve/mourn when you needed to?

are you ready to forgive?

I realize that facing my feelings head-on helps. Flashback ... I remember exactly what I felt. Vividly. But what if I actively alter those feelings by changing the way I view the events in the past. Remember not the actual events of the past but the way I view the event. For example, instead of thinking about how much I hurt, I can think of how far I have come and what challenge I was able to overcome all by myself. I realize that my past shapes my future but it is up to me to choose the kind of shape I want to live with.

I believe that making peace with your past is possible ... that we are not controlled by what happened ... that we are in charge of our present and future. I understand the hurts in my past does not deter me from moving on, and really, life does go on ...

We can make an affirmative decision to go forward on a path of light, goodness and healing. Detach our fears of past inadequacies and participate in the the closure phase of forgiveness. Put down our battle swords and pick up beaming candles of light and healing. Arm ourselves with a shield of light and love. By committing to this spiritual practice, we embrace each connection as a divine assignment and will begin to heal ourselves and those around us.